THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT and the Hope ofthe Advent let To Come began in disappointment in 1844and it has struggled with disap­ pointing delays ever since. And now, 150 years later, how are we to keep hope alive in ouryoungpeople?

ecently Dale Parnell, a professor at Oregon State University, told about traveling with his preschool son. Not long after they starred out, his son began asking those all-too-familiar questions, "Are we almost there? When will we get there? Are we there yet?" Finally, the father, with some exaspera- tion, told the child to be quiet. He would tell him when they were almost there. He would tell him when they were there. He didn't want to hear another question. The boy was silent for about two more hours. Finally, he could contain himself no longer, and with all innocence asked, "Daddy, how old will I be when we get there?" Sometimes it appears that to be an Adventist is to be like a child riding in the back seat of a car on a seemingly interminable trip. Adventism began in disappointment in 1844 and it has struggled with disappointing delays ever since. And now, 150 years later, how are we to keep hope alive in our young people? Or perhaps we should ask, why should we keep hope alive? Picture Any look at Adventist hope in 1994 must be different than it Removed would have been just a year and a halfago. In that time, we have seen Adventist hope not only plagued by disappoint­ ment and delay; we have also seen it go awry in devastation and destruction. For even though we correctly distance ourselves from the by pointing out our differences and stressing how long ago their forebears broke offfrom us, we can't deny the fact that many ofthose who

BY J 0 H N BRUNT

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1994 5 died in the fires of neers to recognize that Waco had attended hope for the future Adventist churches and rested in God's grace schools. and on His action, not Even though we on human efforts want to cry "foul" when alone. Our first state­ Diane Sawyer says on ment ofbeliefs in 1872 PrimeTime Live that reflects this polemical Vernon Howell as a edge when it speaks of youngster joined the both the Second Com­ Seventh-day Adventist ing and the millen­ Church where he nium. Article 8 reads: learned to worship a we believe that the vengeful God who was doctrine of the world's coming to destroy, we conversion andtemporal might be surprised ifwe millennium is a fable of knew how many ofour these last days, calculated own students view God Picture to lull men into a state as vengeful when they Removed of carnal security, and think about escha­ cause them to be over­ tology. Can we keep taken by the great day of Adventist hope alive af­ the Lordas a thiefin the ter 150 years? Should night; that the Second we keep it alive? And Coming of Christ is to ifso, how do we do it? precede, not follow the I believe that we millennium; for until should keep Adventist the Lordappears, thepa­ hope alive, not just be­ pal power, with all its cause it is part of our abominations, is to con­ Adventist heritage, but tinue, the wheat andthe because it is integral to tares grow together, and the gospel of evil men and seducers Christ. However, cer­ wax worse and worse, as tain elements in Ad­ the Word of God de­ ventist clares. l have obscured this vital Coupled with this connection between polemicism was an el­ our hope and the good news ofgrace. We ement of William Miller's theology that will succeed in keeping Adventist hope became an important part ofearly Advent­ alive for our students only if our hope is \\Ie willsucceed in Ism. gospel-oriented and grows out ofour faith William Miller for a time believed in in Jesus Christ. keepingAdventist hope a deistic God, a clock-maker who set up the world and let it go on its own. Then A Historical Sketch he was converted to belief in a personal Before we move to the NewTestament alivefor our students God who promised salvation in Jesus to see the shape of this enduring hope, a Christ and a soon return. briefhistorical sketch may help us under­ only ifour hope is However, despite Miller's conversion, stand where we have come from and how he maintained a kind of deistic view of our past has influenced our hope. the of Christ. For Miller, For our founding fathers and moth­ gospel-oriented and God had initiated a great prophetic count­ ers, Adventist eschatology had a strong po­ down. Through Scripture, He provided lemical edge to it. In their day, most of grows out ofourfaith the sure word of prophecy that enabled believed that every day in ev­ humans to calculate the exact dates ofthe ery way the world was getting better and momentous events to come. better. It was moving toward a millen­ inJesus Christ. For Miller, world history proceeded nium of peace on earth that would come precisely according to this plan. The gi­ through human effort. God led our pio- ant prophetic gears ground inevitably to-

6 ADVENTIST EDUCATION ward the final promise. The predictability • Two women in the church where I of the calculation would motivate people was born rebuked my parents for bring­ to repent as they faced the coming judg­ The greatprophetic ing a child into the world when Armaged­ ment. Miller saw this "sure word ofproph­ don (World War II) was already upon us. ecy" as the basis for the Advent hope. He countdown model that • Other Adventists in World War II confidently fitted events such as the French boldly predicted that Israel would not be­ Revolution and the history of Turkey into come an independent state. the prophetic framework. For him, even has been with us since • Certain Adventists during the Viet­ the Song of Solomon was a prophetic nam War proclaimed that the end was at book.2 Miller's time tends to hand because Laos, Cambodia, and Viet­ In 1845, William Miller wrote a let­ nam were the kings ofthe East and Arma­ ter to Advent believers encouraging them focus on events, rather geddon was upon us. to keep their faith. It was reprinted in the • Some Adventists during the 1970s August 19, 1851 Review. In it, Miller in­ gasoline shortage claimed that the national cluded this telling sentence as he described than the personal Sunday law had begun. his conviction that Jesus would come • Adventists today try to show how again: "This to us is a source of great joy promise ofChrist. the fall ofcommunism fits in with the very and it shows conclusively where our faith final events. is founded and our hope predicated. It is These illustrations indicate that we upon the sure word of prophecy and no have never been any better than anyone other evidence that we rely." Person, Not Events else at predicting tomorrow's headlines. Both this image of a great prophetic Hope that endures is founded on the per­ We don't know whether Yeltsin or countdown and the polemic tone of Ad­ son of Jesus Christ, not on impersonal pro­ Zhirnovsky or someone else will eventu­ vent hope are problematic today, however. phetic events. Notice how Paul, in Romans ally come out on top in Russia. History First, we no longer live in an age that opti­ 5: 1, 2, bases our hope for the future on God's will continue to surprise us, as it does ev­ mistically predicts an earthly millennium grace as revealed in Jesus Christ. "Therefore, eryone else, until the Lord comes. just around the corner. No longer do we since we are justified by faith, we have peace But that is all right, for according to need to break down false millennial opti­ with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the New Testament, hope that endures is mism with predictions of doom and through whom we have obtained access to this not based on impersonal events or our gloom. Instead, we live in an age of de­ grace in which we stand; and we boast in our ability to predict them. Our hope is based spair and meaninglessness. Just listen to hope ofsharing in the glory ofGod" (Romans on salvation through Jesus Christ. He has the popular music that so many ofour stu­ 5: 1, 2 NRSV).3 This in no way detracts from promised to return for us. Because ofthe dents hear. Notice the themes ofviolence, the real promise ofa never-ending future with amazing grace revealed in His life, death, hopelessness, and despair. The world­ Christ. But the present experience with Christ and resurrection, we feel confident that He and our students-need hope. gives shape to the future hope and becomes will not let us down. IfAdventism is to Second, the great prophetic count­ its assurance. keep its hope alive, this hope must be built down model, which helped awaken our This is certainly not new to us, yet there on the foundation of God's grace. pioneers to the promise of Christ's com­ have been elements within Adventist escha­ ing, nevertheless obscures certain impor­ tology that have militated against this basic Assurance, Not Anxiety tant elements ofNew Testament hope. As New Testament conviction. The great pro­ A second feature of gospel-oriented we review this gospel-oriented hope and phetic countdown model that has been with hope is assurance. We have already seen examine its enduring qualities, we see how us since Miller's time tends to focus on events, that Paul speaks of boasting in hope. certain aspects of Miller's great prophetic rather than the personal promise of Christ. There is a joyful confidence to New Tes­ countdown model are problematic today. Adventists have often referred to eschatology tament hope. In 2 Corinthians 3:12 Paul This does not detract from Miller's posi­ as the study of "last-day events." But says, "since we have such a hope, we are tive contribution in calling attention to the eschatology isn't a matter of deciphering fu­ very bold." And the author of Hebrews, importance ofthe second coming ofChrist ture prophetic events; rather, it has to do with in chapter 3, verse 6, says that we are God's in an age of false optimism, or his contri­ Christ's victory and the resulting credibility house if we hold fast our confidence and bution to an understanding of Daniel's of His promise. pride in our hope. 2300-day prophecy. The world needed to This emphasis on inserting events into a This is not a boastful, arrogant belief hear what our pioneers said. But today great prophetic countdown has led us to be­ in ourselves, but a hope that rests in as­ our students need to hear the message in a lieve that Scripture provides tomorrow's head­ surance because it has grasped the reality different key, more carefully nuanced by lines today. That, in turn, has led to a long of God's grace. Those of us who have the gospel. With this in mind, we turn to tradition of prophetic speculation. For ex­ grown up in Adventism need only to re­ five aspects ofgospel-oriented hope as re­ ample: member our childhood to know that vealed in the New Testament, which can • confidently predicted a vi­ Adventist hope has not always been filled reassure our students. tal role for Turkey in earth's history. with assurance. Too often, anxiety and fear

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1994 1 have dominated. long as we stand on that foundation, hope A few years ago, when I was teaching can endure even if Christ's coming seems an eschatology class, I decided to begin the Eschatology isn't a long delayed. But when the foundation semester with an ice-breaking exercise. I for imminence is a never-ending series of asked students if they had ever dreamed matter ofdeciphering dubious speculations about coming events about the Second Coming. I thought we'd that seem to keep pulling the rug from spend about halfthe period on this. I was future prophetic events; under our feer, hope inevitably wanes. unprepared for what followed. We filled the period and more. Most ofthe 50 stu­ Responsibility, Not Passivity dents had dreams to share. Their experi­ rather, it has to do with This leads us to an important ques­ ences were both moving and haunting. tion. What do we do while waiting for One young man told ofdreaming that Christ's victory and the the Second Coming? NewTestament hope his whole family saw the cloud the size of offers a vision, a responsibility, and a mis­ a man's hand in the sky. They rejoiced resulting credibility of sion, not just a passive waiting for the re­ together that Jesus was coming. As Jesus turn. From the beginning, NewTestament came down on the cloud, his sister, mother, writers sought to warn their readers that and father started rising into the air to His promise. there would be an apparent delay. In Mat­ meet Him. He and his brother, on the thew 25's parable of the talents, the mas­ other hand, stayed on the ground. They ter goes away for an extended period. Al­ started jumping frantically as high as they faith, as evidenced by the Valuegenesis study, ready it had seemed like a long time to could, but gravity and guilt held them is, at least in part, the countering message they Matthew's readers, but he points out Chris­ down as their parents and sister floated up receive in so much ofour eschatological teach­ tians' responsibility in the interim. Bury­ to meet the Lord in the air. ing. Hope that endures must be founded on ing one's talent in the ground and waiting Another student said he dreamed he God's grace from beginning to end, so that passively for Christ's return is the wrong was at the railroad station waiting to get grace is just as real in our eschatology as it is thing to do. Hope that endures, grounded on a train. As the conductor began call­ at the cross. Hope that endures is hope with in the gospel, not only looks for a king­ ing the names ofthose who were to board assurance. dom ofjustice and peace and love, but also the train, he recognized the conductor as works toward these goals in the present. Jesus. One by one the people got on the Trust, Not Calculation This hope seeks to multiply the values of train, until there were only a few left. Fi­ From the very beginning, Christians have the kingdom while the Master is away. nally, every name had been called but his. tried to calculate the time ofJesus' return. In As Jesus shows in the final parable of Then the conductor said, ''All aboard." He Acts 1:6, Luke shows us that before Jesus' as­ Matthew 25, the hope ofHis coming feeds went to the conductor, pleading that he cension the disciples were concerned about the hungry, clothes the naked, and gives was to be on the train, too. But the con­ when Jesus would restore the kingdom. Jesus drink to the rhirsty. Hope that endures ductor said, "Your name isn't here," and told them that it was not for them to know has a living, working vision of the king­ shut the door. The train left the station the times or seasons the Father had set by His dom of God that motivates us in the without him. As he watched, it rose into authority. Instead, Jesus pointed them to their present and offers us assurance for the fu­ the air while he stood on the platform cry­ mission. They would receive the Holy Spirit ture. ing. He woke up, his pillow wet with tears. and be His witnesses to the ends ofthe earth. We have not always understood this I asked the class if anyone had ever The great prophetic time clock approach as we should. Take, for example, the issue had a positive dream about the Second to eschatology has never fully broken from its ofslavery in early Adventism. In 1856 R. Coming. In that class of50 students, not initial predilection for time-setting, and so, F. Cottrell, arguing against voting, wrote a single one had. Can we be terribly sur­ over and over again, offshoot groups set dates. in the Review: prised if a new generation of Adventists But even in the mainstream, there is too much "But you can vote against slavery, " says simply pushes eschatology into the back­ general speculation about time that creates one. Very well; supposing I do, what will be ground rather than subject their children false expectations-the "cry wolf" phenom­ the effect? In the lastgreatpersecution, which to the same nightmares they had in their enon-thereby detracting from the important is just befOre us, the decrees ofthe image will youth? Adventist hope will endure only if issues ofeschatology. be against the "bond" as well as the free. our eschatology is consistent with salva­ Speculation sets people up for disappoint­ Bondmen will exist then until the last-till tion. Otherwise, the gospel becomes a ment, so they continue to feel aftershocks of God interposes to deliver His saints, whether good news-bad news joke. We are saved the Great Disappointment. One might argue bond or free. My vote then cannot free the by grace (or at least forgiven), but unless that the New Testament already does that by slaves; and all apparent progress toward we get on the stick and get ready, we prob­ emphasizing that Christ is coming soon. But emancipation willonly exasperate their mas­ ably won't make it when Christ comes there is a difference. The basis for New Testa­ ter, and cause an aggravation ofthose evils again. It's not hard to imagine that one of ment imminence is the conviction that the res­ that it was intended to cure. I cannot there­ the reasons young Adventists have had urrection of]esus has already initiated the "last fore, vote against slavery, neither can I vote such a difficult time grasping salvation by days." (See Hebrews 1:2, for example.) As for it. 4

8 ADVENTIST EDUCATION Fortunately, not all gospel. Jewett wasn't so early Adventists took this sure. When we reached the view. Ellen White, by way ground floor and they of contrast, spoke and separated, Becker shot off worked against slavery.5 the parting salvo, "Just re­ Hope that is genuine member, without apoca­ never uses the future King­ lyptic, the whole world is dom as an excuse for not going to hell." And it is working toward Kingdom true. values in the present. If And yet, we must re­ God cares enough about member that misplaced the world to promise a day apocalyptic hope can cre­ free from prejudice and ate its own kind of hell suffering, war and oppres­ right here on this earth, as sion, how can we care so Picture Waco has demonstrated. Removed litrle that we fail to do what We must preserve hope, we can to end prejudice, but only the right kind of suffering, war, and oppres­ hope, which enables us to sion now? endure. We will know we have the right kind ofhope Inclusive, Not when we can sing with Exclusive conviction and vigor, "Our Finally, a gospel-ori­ hope is built on nothing ented hope that endures less than Jesus' blood and takes an inclusive view. righteousness." lit? Those who hold this hope never claim it as their pri­ Dr. John Brunt is Vice Presi­ vate possession because dent fOr Academic Admin­ they know that Jesus is the istration at Walla Walla Col­ Saviour of the world. 1 lege, College Place, Washing­ Timothy 4: 10 tells us that ton. This article is based on Jesus is the Saviour of all his seminar from the lecture human beings, especially series called "1844-1994: those who believe. This is not universal­ iour would come, their fortunes would be re­ Great Disappointment, Greater Hope, "which ism, but neither is it a narrow sectarian­ stored, and gold would flow in the rivers. But was presented at during ism. Our hope must include a concern Tolkien adds, 'This pleasant legend did not the Winter andSpring Quarters of1994. The for all people. It recognizes that God is much affect their daily business."6 presentations will soon be compiled into book working in the whole world with all ForAdventists, it is different. Hope trans­ fOrm and will be available from La Sierra people, not only with us. It took some forms daily business into a sense of mission University Press. time for our pioneers to recognize that. and responsibility for the world. Without this They believed the door was shut. But God hope, there is no solution to the problem of NOTES AND REFERENCES led them eventually to open the door and evil and death. As my friend and colleague, reach out in one of the most impressive Glen Greenwalt, is fond ofsaying, "Even on a 1. Quoted in Gary Land, ed., Adventism in mission advances in Christianity. Hope good day, children die." A God who cares America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), p. 233. that endures includes the whole world in cannot allow that to go on forever. But we 2. William Miller, Evidence From Scripture and History ofthe Second Coming ofChrist, About the the loving arms ofGod's gracious embrace. have hope that ours is a gracious and kind God Year 1843: Exhibited in a Course ofLectures (Bos­ whose promise can be trusted. The world ton: B. B. Mussey, 1840), p. 264. Conclusion needs this hope, and we can proclaim it with­ 3. All Scripture quotations are taken from the In a world with so much despair and out being ashamed. New Revised Standard Version, Division of Chris­ tian Education ofthe National Council ofChurches discouragement, Adventists have some­ About two years ago at a theological con­ of Christ in the United States ofAmerica, 1989. thing to offer: a confident, assured hope vention, I rode 25 floors down an elevator with 4. R. F. Cottrell, "How Shall I Vote?" Review grounded in the grace of God as revealed two New Testament theologians, Robert and Herald (Ocrober 30,1856), p. 205. in our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In his fanci­ Jewett and J. Christian Becker. They were 5. See, for example, TestimoniesfOr the Church ful tale, The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien tells arguing about the role ofapocalyptic hope in (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Assn., 1948), vol. 1, p. 264. of a group of dwarfs who had been dis­ Christian faith, especially Paul's presentation 6. J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: Or There and placed from their land by a mean dragon. of faith. Becker was arguing, correcrly I be­ Back Again (: Ballantine Books, 1966), These dwarfs sang of the day when a sav- lieve, that apocalyptic hope is integral to the p.186.

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